


Spellbound

by Bird_of_Dreams



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Elemental Magic, M/M, Viktor being Viktor, Yuuri has no idea what is going on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 08:10:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10080812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bird_of_Dreams/pseuds/Bird_of_Dreams
Summary: Oh god, he was here again.He being the silver-haired swordsman that has been coming in to his family’s humble magic items store for the past three days. Normally, Yuuri wouldn’t have a problem with this, if not for the fact that the swordsman was, hands down,the most devastatingly beautiful person Yuuri has ever seen in his entire life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sure that most of you have heard about the collab that YOI did with the fantasy game, Rage of Bahamut. After I saw the absolutely gorgeous character designs, I became super inspired and as a result, this story was born. I realize that this is pretty different from my other YOI fic, but everyone looked so pretty I just couldn’t help myself (ﾉ*0*)ﾉ
> 
> As a side note, I’ve never played the game before so I’ve taken my own liberties with the storyline. Basically, I just took the character designs and ran with it.
> 
> Edit: Now comes with [fanart](https://www.instagram.com/p/BUcIOulgS1e/?hl=en)! Thank you to the talented annietamie!

Oh god, he was here again.

He being the silver-haired swordsman that has been coming in to his family’s humble magic items store for the past three days. Normally, Yuuri wouldn’t have a problem with this, if not for the fact that the swordsman was, hands down, _the most devastatingly beautiful person Yuuri has ever seen in his entire life_.

He was sure that the swordsman had to be at least part elf or some sort of other mythical creature because there was no earthly way that a regular human could be so beautiful. One of these days, Yuuri was going to die talking to him, he was sure of it. In fact, the first time he saw the swordsman walk through the doors, Yuuri did actually almost die.

Two days ago, Yuuri had been busy taking stock when the bell suddenly chimed, notifying him of a new customer. “Welcome!” he automatically called out. Yuuri looked up from his work, gasped, and promptly choked on his own tongue.

While he not so discreetly tried to cover up his coughing, he took in the newcomer with watery eyes. The man that had walked in was tall and had short silver hair that shone like starlight and eyes so blue and luminous they reminded Yuuri of the type of jewels you would find in a dragon’s hoard. He was dressed in surprisingly simple clothing—a modestly patterned tunic, a traveling cloak, some light armor, and a thin sword by his side—but his plain clothing didn’t detract at all from his flawless beauty.

“Hi there~” the swordsman called out cheerfully.

 _Don’t screw this up, Katsuki Yuuri, don’t you dare-_ “H-Hi! How to help me...I mean help _you_!…I-I mean how can I help you?” In his haste to hurry over, Yuuri’s foot got caught on the corner of the counter he was standing behind. He would have fallen flat on his face if not for the firm hands that caught him by his shoulders.

Yuuri hesitantly glanced up at his savior. He could just feel the blush breaking across his face and mentally, he willed for a rabid beast to burst through the doors and swallow him right this instant.

The handsome stranger gave a light chuckle. “Wow, falling for me already?”

Yuuri felt his soul ascend to the higher plane where the angels resided…only to immediately drop back down once he comprehended what he said.

“What?” he croaked.

The swordsman merely shot him a heart-stopping, heart-shaped smile, looking as though he didn’t just try to temporarily short-circuit Yuuri’s cognitive functions with his earlier words. “I’m Viktor, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Y-Yuuri.”

“Yuuri, was it?” Oh god, the way he said his name should be illegal. Viktor rolled the syllables off his tongue as though he was savoring the delectable flavor of the rare Katsu fruit. “You’re even cuter in person.”

Yuuri felt a little light-headed from how quickly the blood rushed to his face. He really wasn’t sure he was going to be able to survive this encounter. He quickly took a step back, hoping distance would make being in Viktor’s presence more manageable. “D-Did you need something?”

“I do.” Viktor stepped closer, promptly bringing himself back into Yuuri’s personal bubble. “You see, Yuuri, I’m actually a thief.”

Inwardly, Yuuri began to panic. He needed to warn his parents, but when Viktor shot him another bright smile, his knees all but gave out on him. God, was he attractive. If his plan was to be so stunningly beautiful that Yuuri would be too distracted to be able to stop him, it was working well. In fact, Yuuri was busy being so effectively distracted that he almost missed Viktor’s next words.

“And I'm here to steal your heart.”

Yuuri felt his brain short-circuiting again. “…What?”

“I said, I’m here for your heart,” Viktor repeated cheerfully, with absolutely no compunction on his part.

Yuuri opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I…It’s not...” he flushed, cleared his throat, and tried again. “I mean...”

“Oh, is it not available right now? Don’t worry, I’ll work for it.” he declared. He then had the audacity to throw him a _wink_.

“No, that’s not, I mean-”

“I’ll be back!”

And with a cheerful wave, Viktor left almost as suddenly as he arrived. Yuuri’s knees finally gave out on him and he slumped down to the floor with a blank stare.

What in the world had just happened?

 

* * *

 

Their second meeting hadn’t gone much better. In fact, the only reason Yuuri wasn't convinced their initial meeting was a dream was because Viktor came back in the very next day.

Before Yuuri could so much as muster up a greeting, Viktor had already opened up with his own words. “Yuuri, did you know that I’m also a seer? Because I can see you in my future.” He concluded this statement with a well-placed wink.

Yuuri flushed and barely managed to squeak out a, “I…uhm. Thank you?”

Viktor looked at him expectedly, but when Yuuri continued to stare at him with wide eyes, Viktor seemed to deflate a little. “I’ll try again tomorrow,” he muttered dejectedly before leaving. Yuuri was left, once again, blinking the confusion out of his eyes.

 

* * *

 

It was now the third day in a row that Viktor had stopped by and Yuuri was determined to at least hold a proper conversation without getting sidetracked by Viktor’s dazzling good looks or gaping at him like a possessed puppet every time he said something remotely flirty.

“Hi, Yuuri!” Viktor beamed, looking as though they haven’t seen each other in the past 24 hours.

Yuuri took a deep breath to steel himself. He then looked up and immediately felt his courage drop as fast as his heart did.

Oh no, he was still beautiful. Phichit might say that he was exaggerating, but it actually physically pained him to look at Viktor sometimes, he was just that attractive. It was like looking at perfection itself, like the angels themselves decided to come down and gift one of their own to the unworthy mortals and oh god he was monologuing and Viktor was still waiting for a response, say something already, Yuuri!-

“Hi, Viktor,” he finally managed to choke out. “I-Is there something I can help you find in the store today?”

Viktor tapped a finger against his lips. “Perhaps a map?”

“A map…?”

Viktor graced him with a beatific smile. “Because I’m getting lost in your stunning eyes.”

Yuuri flushed, an automatic response to Viktor’s presence by now. “Oh, uh, t-thank you? Uhm…” Feeling flustered, he quickly scanned the store for something else to talk about. His eyes alighted on one of the many swords that were displayed on the walls and he grasped onto the change in topic almost desperately. “Are you sure you wouldn’t be interested in looking at one of our many swords instead? My parents are excellent blacksmiths.”

Viktor blinked. “Why do you think I would want to look at swords?”

Yuuri mirrored his confusion. “Because you’re a swordsman, aren’t you?”

“No,” Viktor said slowly. “Whatever gave you that idea?” Yuuri gave a pointed glance at the sword that hung at his side. “Ah, this? This is just an accessory!”

“Okay…” Yuuri decided against questioning him on his eccentricities. “So you’re a magesmith then?”

He didn’t quite understand the amused look that Viktor shot at him. “You could say that.”

For those who wanted to continue studying magic once they became of age, there were two paths to choose from: becoming either a swordsman or a magesmith.

While swordsmen concentrated more on close-range fighting and using their innate magic to directly amplify their attacks, magesmiths were more medium to long-distance fighters who focused on dancing spell sequences to enchant the fae—invisible, fairy-like creatures that ultimately controlled the elements—in order to cast their spells.

Viktor strolled over to one of the side shelves. On it were a variety of small scrolls, neatly rolled up and displayed in individual glass bottles. “Rather than swords, I'm actually more interested in these spell scrolls over there. Who crafted them?”

“Oh, uhm…I did.”

“Really?” Viktor brightened. “They're extremely well made! Tell me, Yuuri, what are your elements?”

Yuuri was a little taken aback by the excited gleam in his eyes. “Well, my primary element is water and my secondary is wind, but I’m actually most comfortable with ice magic.”

Viktor shot him another heart-shaped smile. “Amazing! That means that your primary and secondary elements are almost equal in strength!”

Yuuri scratched his head bashfully. “I guess so?”

For all swordsmen and magesmiths, there are a total of four elements their magic can fall under: water, fire, earth, and wind. Everyone was born with two innate elements—a primary element they were strongest at, as well as a secondary element. The elements you are born with determines the type of magic you are able to cast. While most focus on learning magic from either their primary or secondary elements, there are some who are able to combine their two elements together to cast magic from an entirely new element.

“So water and wind, was it?” Viktor looked thoughtful. “That means that your guardian spirit is the spirit of ice.”

“That’s right.”

Viktor tilted his head. “Have you met them before?”

“What?” Yuuri sputtered. “Of course not! Me meet one of the guardian spirits? The guardian spirits are some of the highest ranked beings in the world, second only to the elementals themselves! Why would they even want to bother meeting someone as lowly as me?”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Yuuri.” Viktor looked faintly amused again. “I’m sure that any of the spirits would be happy to meet someone as amazing as you.”

Yuuri only shook his head in disbelief.

The highest ranked beings in the world and the source of all magic were the four elementals. Each one of them was the physical embodiment of one of the four elements—water, fire, earth, and wind.

Ranking directly beneath the elementals were the four guardian spirits: the spirits of ice, wood, darkness, and light. Each spirit is formed as a combination of two of the elementals—the spirit of ice from the wind and water elementals, the spirit of wood from the water and earth elementals, the spirit of darkness from the earth and fire elementals, and the spirit of light from the fire and wind elementals. The guardian spirits essentially acted as extensions of the elementals themselves and oversaw the fae of their respective elements as well as the people who were born with their elements.

So for Viktor to even suggest that any one of the guardian spirits would want to meet with Yuuri himself was laughable at best. He tried to clamp down on his self-deprecating thoughts by posing his own question. “May I ask what your elements are, Viktor?”

“Me?” Viktor gave an enigmatic smile. “I’m the same as you—water and wind. But I can most confidently say that I am most skilled with ice magic.”

Yuuri blinked, surprised. “Oh, we have the same type of magic!”

“That we do!” Viktor agreed cheerfully. “And from one ice user to another, you can believe me when I say that these are the most well-crafted spells I have ever seen.”

Yuuri ducked his head. “Thank you.” He wasn’t used to having other people compliment his spell crafting skills which was why he blurted out his next words. “Do you want one of them?”

Now it was Viktor’s turn to look surprised. “You’re going to give me one?”

“I-I mean, technically, I am supposed to sell them,” Yuuri hastened to explain. “But the ice spells aren’t really popular since you need to have either a water or wind element in order to use them and most people here have either fire or earth elements and-”

“Alright, I’ll take one then!” Viktor said blithely before Yuuri could babble on some more. “I pick this one~” Coincidentally, he chose a spell scroll that had one of the longest spell sequences. It had taken Yuuri several tries before he was able to cast it properly, but he was fairly proud with the final product.

“Thanks, Yuuri! But now I feel like I should give you something in return.”

Yuuri quickly waved his hands in front of him. “No, no, you don’t need to! I wanted you to have it.”

“But I want to give you something as well!” Viktor thought for a moment. “Ah, I know.” He brought an open palm up to his lips and blew softly into his hand. Immediately, a delicate, long-stemmed blue rose, formed entirely of ice, appeared right before Yuuri’s disbelieving eyes. Viktor winked as he handed the rose over with a flourish. “You have my thanks.”

Wordlessly, Yuuri accepted the gift. He held the rose between numb fingers and stared speechlessly at it, completely awed by its fine details and beautiful craftsmanship. Viktor had somehow managed to recreate every little detail on the ice rose, from its elegant petals to the closed furrow in the middle, down to the minute ridges on its slender leaves. It was such an authentic replication that it looked as though Viktor had plucked a real rose and had it encased in ice.  

Yuuri didn’t know how long he stood there, staring at the perfectly sculpted rose. He was so distracted that he didn’t even notice when Viktor had left.

It wasn’t until a long while later before Yuuri realized that he never saw Viktor cast a spell sequence before creating the rose.

 

* * *

 

Viktor kept coming back throughout the next few days, sometimes to strike up a conversation, sometimes just to linger around while Yuuri went about with his work. But the biggest problem—and the current source of Yuuri’s headache—was how Viktor never failed to drop some sort of playful one-liner every single time he visited.

“Did you cast some magic on me, Yuuri? Because I’ve fallen under your spell.”

“Yuuri, are you sure that fire isn’t your primary element? Because you’re way too hot.”

“You must be tired, Yuuri, because you’ve been running through my mind all day.”

“Yuuri, I think there’s something wrong with my eyes because I can’t seem to take them off of you.”

“Is your mother an artist, Yuuri? Because I just wanted to tell her that I’m a big fan of her work, you.”

“Yuuri~”

“Yuuri!”

“ _Yuuuuuri_!”

“I don’t know what he wants from me!” Yuuri wailed to Phichit after several days of this relentless torture.

His so-called best friend only laughed at his misery, the jerk. “Obviously, he’s flirting with you. He gave you this, didn’t he?” Phichit twirled the ice rose, which, remarkably enough, still hasn’t melted even though it had already been a few days. It was a testament to how incredibly skilled Viktor was, which was another reason why what Phichit was suggesting was completely ridiculous.

“I’m telling you, that’s impossible!” he hissed. “I mean, have you _seen_ him?”

“I have. He looks exactly like your type.”

“M-My type?” Yuuri spluttered. “What do you mean my-”

“Do you not like it when he shows up every day to bother you?”

“It’s not a bother,” Yuuri mumbled into his bed. “It’s actually rather flttrng…”

Phichit leaned in closer with a shit-eating smile. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you~”

Yuuri lifted his head from the pillow long enough to glare at him. But he knew Phichit would badger him relentlessly until he answered, so he sighed before admitting, “I said, I find it a bit flattering.”

Phichit’s smile somehow widened even more, but he thankfully enough, he held back on his teasing. “Then what’s the problem?”

“My problem is that I don’t know what he wants from me!”

“If you don’t believe me-”

“-it’s impossible!-”

“-then you can always just, y’know, ask him.” Phichit jabbed the rose in his direction to emphasize his point.

Yuuri plopped back down onto his pillow. “Easier said than done.”

 

* * *

 

After several more days of exposure to Viktor, Yuuri finally mustered up enough courage to voice his question. “Viktor, what is it that you want?”

“Hm?” Viktor looked up from where he was examining one of their scrying glasses. “What was that?”

“I-I mean, I don’t mind that you stop by every day, but is there something in here that you want? Maybe some sort of item I can help you find?” After pondering over it, Yuuri had worked that out to be the most likely reason behind Viktor’s continued visits.

Viktor pouted. “Haven’t I made it clear what I want?”

“No?”

Viktor’s pout became even more exaggerated. “Obviously, it’s you, Yuuri!”

Yuuri’s face immediately flooded over with red. “W-What?”

“Or, at least, to know more about you,” Viktor amended.

“Oh…” Yuuri tried to quell the sudden stab of disappointment. “What about me?”

Viktor hummed thoughtfully. “How about the time you first decided you wanted to become a magesmith?”

Yuuri cleared his throat. “I think you must be mistaken, Viktor,” he said softly. “I’m actually a swordsman.”

Viktor shot a furtive glance at the very obvious sword that Yuuri carried by his side before furrowing his brows. “Are you really though?”

Yuuri gave a slightly self-deprecating laugh. “I know, I don’t really seem like one, do I?”

“No, you don’t.” Yuuri felt himself flinch, but then Viktor continued. “But only because you are much more suited to be a magesmith. You have so much potential as one, Yuuri. Why did you choose to become a swordsman instead?”

“You know, my magic mentor, Minako-sensei, asked me the same thing when I told her that I wanted to become a swordsman. She said that I would have made a great magesmith,” he said in a wistful sort of tone.

“So why didn’t you?”

Yuuri hesitated for a moment, but when he saw that Viktor’s face held nothing but open curiosity, he quietly answered. “I’m not sure if you know, but Hasetsu is a village that’s known for its swordsmanship. We have a long history of raising exceptional swordsman, so most people who choose to continue studying magic usually end up becoming swordsmen.”

He looked down at his fingers, which were currently twisting themselves into knots. “I do like learning about spell casting and dancing spell sequences. But while being a magesmith isn’t exactly looked down upon, it’s definitely the less popular of the two paths.” He gave a half-hearted shrug. “I thought about it for a while, but I figured that since I’ll probably end up like any other dime-a-dozen magesmiths, I might as well choose the path that’s more widely accepted.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

Yuuri glanced up, confused, but Viktor only gestured to his hands. “May I?”

Bewildered, Yuuri held a hand out to Viktor. He half-expected Viktor to drop another gift into his palm, but instead of doing that, Viktor reached out with his own hand and entwined their fingers together.

Yuuri immediately panicked and tried to pull his hand back. “Wait, Viktor, what are you-?”

“Shh…don’t you feel it?”

Yuuri wasn’t sure what he meant for a moment, but as soon as he relaxed enough to let their palms meet, he understood. A heady warmth immediately shot through his body, flooding his veins with liquid fire. It was as though their touch had sparked something deep within. Yuuri inhaled sharply. “What is this?”

Viktor smiled, his blue eyes strangely gentle. “As I thought, our magic is compatible.”

As if in response to his words, the warmth pulsed stronger still before suddenly manifesting itself as gentle gusts of wind that swirled around them, ruffling their clothes and fluttering through their hair in teasing wisps.

Yuuri blinked when something white suddenly fluttered past him. He glanced up and gaped at the sight in front of him. A gentle snowfall had somehow started up inside the store, softly dusting everything over in shimmering flecks of silver-white.

Unbidden, he reached up to catch a snowflake that was slowly drifting towards him. It melted immediately when it met the warmth of his hand, leaving a cool fleeting kiss on his fingertips.

“Are you doing this?” Yuuri whispered, awed.

“No, Yuuri,” Viktor gently corrected. He was still giving him that same tender look, the one that Yuuri didn’t want to think too deeply about, less he give himself false hope. “This is all you.”

Yuuri was not at all prepared for the sight of Viktor in the snow. A normal Viktor was already beautiful enough, but a Viktor with glittering crystals dotting his hair and delicate snowflakes clinging stubbornly to his long eyelashes was absolutely ethereal, an otherworldly vision of stardust and light.

Yuuri stared at him, breathless with wonder, but for some reason, Viktor was gazing reverently back at him, looking at him as though he was the miracle. “Your magic is truly a beautiful thing. You would make an amazing magesmith, one of the best there ever was.” Viktor’s eyes held on to his own. Yuuri found that couldn’t have looked away even if he wanted to. “It’s not too late to realize your true calling, Yuuri. You can still be a magesmith if you choose to.”

But Yuuri was already shaking his head. “It’s unheard of to switch once you’ve committed to a path.”

“Unheard of, but not impossible.”

“But-”

Viktor pressed a finger to his lips. Yuuri felt both his thoughts and body freeze up. “Just promise me that you’ll think about it."

Viktor's eyes were so, so blue and Yuuri felt himself _drowning_ in them.

"Okay," he finally whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuuri slept fitfully that night, consumed as he was by thoughts of how he was going to answer Viktor tomorrow. But when Viktor didn’t come back in the next day like he usually did, Yuuri tried to tell himself that he wasn’t disappointed even though part of him was grateful he had more time to think through his decision.

When Viktor swept into the store a few days later, Yuuri had more or less finalized his decision. His heart might have wanted it, but in the end, logic won out.

Viktor greeted him with his usual warm smile. “Yuuri! Have you thought about what I said?”

“I have,” Yuuri bit his lip. “Viktor, I’m not sure you realize how impossible your idea is. Even if I choose to become a magesmith now, I’ll be extremely behind in my studies.”

Viktor didn’t look deterred. “But you want to, don’t you?”

“I do,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I have several years of studying to catch up on. Not to mention how I would need to find a proper magic mentor as well. Minako-sensei taught me everything that I know about spell casting, but it's not like she’s a fully certified magic mentor.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that!”

“What do you mean?”

Viktor winked. “I know just the perfect person to teach you.”

Before Yuuri could answer, they were interrupted by several loud, angry voices up front. Yuuri frowned. “Wait here, I’ll go see what’s going on.”

When he approached the store entrance, he was met with a group of four burly men who were grumbling amongst themselves. They were all dressed in travel-worn clothing and the large swords that were strapped to their backs signified all of them as swordsmen.

“Where is he?” The tallest man, a heavily muscled one with an unruly mane of hair, growled to his companions. “The tracker led us here.”

Their appearance and demeanor unsettled him, but Yuuri did his best to clamp down on his nerves as he asked in the mildest tone he could manage. “Excuse me? Is there something I can help you with?”

The man glanced over at him. “Yeah, you can start by telling us where the magical creature is.”

“The magical creature?” Yuuri echoed. “What do you mean?” It was only then that he noticed the item the man held in his hand, a large golden compass that Yuuri recognized at a single glance. Understanding, along with a growing sense of dread, crept up on him.

“Yuuri, what’s going on?” Viktor asked, coming in from behind him.

He whirled around. “Viktor, don’t!-”

But Viktor had already stepped into sight and as he did, the single arrow on the compass immediately locked in on him and emitted a piercing shriek.

The man looked up from the compass with a feral grin. “Found you!”

Viktor cocked his head, confused. “You were looking for me?”

The man shot him a scathing look. “Don’t play dumb. Don’t you know what this is?” He held up the compass. “It’s a tracker specifically designed to detect magical creatures with strong magical auras. We caught wind of some particularly high readings coming from this area lately and thought that we should check it out.” He gave them a sharp grin. “Lucky for us that we did.”

“Viktor, you need to run,” Yuuri whispered urgently.

“What?” Viktor looked as though he still didn’t understand the urgency of the situation.

“They’re trappers,” Yuuri explained. “They’re like bounty hunters, but specifically for magical creatures. They catch them and illegally sell them for exuberant sums in the black market.”

“Oh,” Viktor’s brows furrowed. “But why are they here?”

Yuuri shot him an incredulous look. “Viktor, don’t you get it? They’re here for you.”

“Here for me? But why-” Viktor’s eyes widened slightly in understanding. “Wait. Do all of you think that I’m a magical creature of some sort?”

“There’s no use trying to pretend any longer,” the man scoffed. “This tracker only hones in on non-human magical auras, so whatever you are, you’re not human, that’s for sure.” He gave Viktor a quick once-over. “Pretty thing like you must be an elf or something, right? You’ll fetch for a nice price.”

“Now wait a minute.” Viktor finally shifted into a more defensive stance, but before he could do anything more, Yuuri purposefully stepped out in front of him.

“You need to get out of here, Viktor.”

“Yuuri?” Viktor took in the tense line of his body and the muted determination in his eyes. “Yuuri,” he said urgently. “What are you planning to do?”

Yuuri reached for the sword by his side. “I’m going to buy you some time to run.”

“You can’t! You’re greatly outnumbered!”

“I know. But I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if you got hurt and I could have done something to prevent it.” He felt his hands trembling, but then he thought about Viktor behind him and protectiveness reared its head. Yuuri closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to meet Viktor’s astounded gaze. “I don’t what you are, Viktor, but I know that I won’t let them take you.”

Yuuri unsheathed his sword without hesitation and with it in hand, he charged towards the man who was clearly the leader of the group.

The man unsheathed his own sword with a feral grin, prompting his companions to do the same. “You want to fight, huh? So be it!” The man blocked Yuuri’s initial strike with his own and the two weapons clashed with a sharp, metallic sound. Yuuri didn’t relent on his assault and immediately tried to follow up with a side swipe, but the man parried his blow easily.

As Yuuri continued his attack, it quickly became clear how outmatched he was. The man seemed to humor him for a bit, effortlessly deflecting several of his swipes before finally stepping forward to easily disarm him with a quick downward jerk.

Yuuri stared, stunned, as the man kicked his sword away before shoving him roughly to the side.

“Yuuri!” Viktor hurried over to him. “Are you alright?”

“Why-” Yuuri managed to gasp out as he tried to push himself back to his feet. “Why are you still here?”

“I couldn't just leave you to face off against them by yourself!”

Yuuri shook his head roughly. “That’s not the point!” His eyes suddenly widened. “Viktor, look out!”

Taking advantage of their brief moment of distraction, two of the other trappers managed to creep close enough to them so that they were able to throw a set of enchanted chains around a surprised Viktor.

“No!” Yuuri lurched to his feet, only to be roughly shoved away again.

The first man hefted his own sword up to his shoulder with a smirk. “Well, that wasn’t much of a fight at all. With moves like those, you dare call yourself a swordsman, boy?” He redirected his gaze back to Viktor. “Now are you going to come quietly?”

Viktor subtly tested the strength of the chains, frowning when he found that they wouldn’t give.

“There’s no use doing that,” the man said. “Those chains completely suppress all magic. Now, why don’t you-”

An unexpected gust of violent wind suddenly blasted into the man, sending him flying into one of the shelves with a resounding crash.

“You’re wrong.”

Viktor and the three remaining trappers turned to see Yuuri, who was standing tall and holding the last pose from the spell sequence he had just casted. Yuuri relaxed out of his pose and stated firmly, “I’m not a swordsman—I’m a _magesmith_.”

Viktor’s eyes widened when he took in Yuuri’s clothes. Gone was his usual loose blue tunic and black pants and in its place was a form-fitting back outfit with mesh-detailing along the chest, a flowing half-skirt, and fine silver beading. Yuuri’s glasses had disappeared as well and his bangs were slicked back to reveal a set of determined eyes.

“Yuuri, is that your-”

“Mage form?” Yuuri looked embarrassed for a moment. “Yeah...”

“Beautiful,” Viktor whispered reverently.

“Hey!” One of the three remaining men called out, snapping their attention back to them. “Just because you got in a lucky shot doesn’t mean anything. Or do you really think some lowly magesmith can take all three of us down?”

“Yuuri…” Viktor said worriedly.

“Don’t worry,” Yuuri confidently faced the remaining trappers. It appeared that the transformation into his mage form extended to more than just his clothes. “Just watch me, Viktor.” He extended his arms in front of him, slid into his first pose, and _danced_.

Viktor watched, spellbound, as Yuuri flowed fluidly from one movement into another. When one of the men aimed a fast swipe at his feet, Yuuri dodged gracefully before performing an arabesque that transformed into a beautiful camel spin, which sent a burst of water that knocked his attacker into the wall.

The two remaining men tried a different tactic and attempted to double-team him, but Yuuri lithely twisted away from the incoming swords. Without pausing, he stepped into a spread eagle position that opened up into a perfectly executed triple axel, resulting in a wave of ice that quickly froze the men’s feet to the floor.

The entire fight was over in just a few minutes.

Viktor was still staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of him when Yuuri’s worried face appeared in his line of vision. “Are you okay?” He tugged at the chains that still held Viktor ensnared. “How do we get these things off?”

“Yuuri." At Viktor's reverent tone, he glanced up from where he was still working at the chains. “That was absolutely amazing.”

“Ah, it was okay,” he replied bashfully.

“Don’t be modest! The way you cast those spell sequences,” Viktor shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“I’m sure that-”

“You think you’re tough shit just because you can cast a few spells, huh?”

Yuuri whipped around to see that the first man, the one he had labelled as the leader of the group, had managed to stagger to his feet to lean unsteadily against the wall. It seemed that he wasn’t as knocked out as Yuuri initially thought he was. He glared at them with an ugly sneer on his face. “Well, you're not the only one who's capable of casting spells.”

Before Yuuri could start another spell sequence, the man had already pulled out a spell scroll from his pocket. Yuuri’s eyes widened. Spell scrolls, like the one he had gifted Viktor with before, already had a completed spell transcribed onto them. This meant that anyone who was using them could immediately cast magic without the hassle of dancing a spell sequence beforehand.

As the man unrolled the scroll and summoned numerous large wooden spikes to rush out towards them, Yuuri could only think about how he didn’t have enough time to cast a spell sequence of his own in return. He shifted so that he could shield as much of Viktor as he could with his own body before closing his eyes and bracing himself for the impact.

When several moments passed and Yuuri still didn’t feel any of the expected piercing pain, he cautiously opened his eyes again. The sight that he was met with left him blinking several times in disbelief.

Somehow, the spikes that were previously speeding towards him halted in their flight and now hung suspended in midair several feet away from him. But what was most astonishing was that every single one of the spikes had been frozen over with a thick layer of ice. As Yuuri watched, large cracks spread across their iced-over surfaces and a few seconds later, the spikes shattered into thousands of tiny, sparkling fractals.

“I really don’t approve of attacking someone when their back is turned. It’s very rude to do so, you know.”

Yuuri glanced around, puzzled, at the sudden drastic drop in temperature. It quickly became cold enough that Yuuri could see his breath in front of him. When he finally looked over at Viktor, he almost flinched at the cold look he saw on the other’s face. Viktor’s eyes, usually so bright and warm, had hardened to twin shards of ice and seemed to glow with some sort of hidden power.

“Viktor?” he whispered uncertainly.

But Viktor only had eyes for the man in front of him. Yuuri watched, awed, as the chains that were wrapped around Viktor’s form quickly froze over. Viktor carelessly pulled his arms free and the frozen pieces of the chains cracked off, falling to his feet as harmless chips of ice.

As Viktor began to slowly advance towards the increasingly terrified man, sheets of ice appeared on the ground wherever he stepped, leaving an ice-kissed path trailing after him. The man whimpered when tendrils of ice began to creep towards him, holding him down and encasing him in a partial ice coffin when he tried to scramble away.

Viktor kneeled down next to the fearful man and gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “These things are yours, aren’t they?” He gestured towards the fallen compass and sword. “Let me return them to you.” Viktor reached over to grab them, only to immediately freeze them over with a single touch. When he tapped at them gently, both items immediately shattered upon contact. “Oops, my bad~ Those looked expensive.”

The man was all but hyperventilating by now. “I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean it, I swear!”

“I think you meant exactly what you said,” Viktor tapped a finger against his lips. “But fortunately for you, I’m not allowed to directly harm humans, so…”

The ice holding the man in place shattered, freeing him from his icy prison. He immediately scrambled back, placing as much distance as he could between Viktor and himself.

Viktor hummed thoughtfully before scanning the rest of the store. The other trappers froze under his gaze, locked in various states of shock and fear. “Oh, right, before I forget.” Viktor snapped his fingers and the rest of their swords quickly froze before shattering into useless pieces. Any protests were quickly quelled by the deceivingly bright smile Viktor shot at them.

“I don’t ever want to see any of you back here. If you do, who knows what might happen? Now, I suggest you all leave before I change my mind about letting you go.” As soon as Viktor released them from the ice, the men all stumbled over each other in their haste to run out the door, shooting terrified looks at Viktor as they did. Viktor watched them go with a distinctly satisfied air.

“…Viktor?”

He turned around to find Yuuri staring uncertainly at him.

“Yuuri!” He quickly hurried over to him and was relieved when the other didn’t flinch away in fear. “Are you alright?” he asked, immediately checking him over for injuries.

“I’m fine.” Yuuri glanced around them in a daze. Remnants of ice still littered the floor of the entire store and long icicles had started to creep down from the ceiling. “You did all this.”

“Oh, sorry! Don’t worry, I’ll fix it right up.” Viktor clapped his hands together and immediately all the ice vanished, looking as though there was no sign of it in the first place.

“That’s not what I meant,” Yuuri said a little hysterically. “You stopped all those trappers so easily and you didn’t even need to cast any spell sequences to use such powerful magic.” He stared at him with eyes still blown wide with shock. “Viktor, what _are_ you?

Viktor smiled teasingly. “You mean you can’t guess?”

Yuuri merely stared blankly at him.

Viktor pouted slightly. “I suppose you won't believe me unless I show you outright anyways.” He then proceeded to run a hand down the expanse of his body. It was like watching a mirage happen—Viktor’s image shimmered out of focus for a moment before a blinding light suddenly erupted out of him.

Yuuri instinctively raised a hand in front of his eyes to protect himself against the sudden onslaught of brightness. When he managed to blink the stars out of his vision, Yuuri lowered his hand and gasped at the sight in front of him.

The simple clothes that Viktor was previously wearing had disappeared, leaving him in a fitted white top with large brass buttons, tailored black trousers, and a beautiful fuchsia overcoat with a rich fur collar. A large, majestic cloak, which fluttered around him in an invisible breeze, was held in place by an ornate crystal pendant by his shoulder. Viktor’s appearance had changed as well—his beautiful silver hair had lengthened and now fell in an immaculate braid down his back and a delicate crown made of pure ice adorned his head.

Yuuri was already reeling from Viktor’s transformation, but he swore his heart actually stopped for a moment when he caught sight of the wand that Viktor held loosely between his fingers. Despite never having met him personally before, Yuuri most definitely recognized the symbol on the wand. “Viktor,” he whispered breathlessly. “You’re-”

“The guardian spirit of ice, at your service,” Viktor announced with a wink.

There was a long moment of silence.

“Yuuri?” Viktor said, waving his free hand in his face.

“I should have known that you were too beautiful to be human,” Yuuri mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Yuuri continued to stare at Viktor with awe painted across his face. “But Viktor, I-I mean spirit of ice-”

Viktor cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips. “Please, I’m still just Viktor.”

Yuuri was understandably bewildered. “I-I don’t understand. If you’re the spirit of ice, what could you possibly want with someone like me?”

“I thought I would have made it obvious by now.” Viktor gave him a warm look. “Yuuri, it’s you that I want.”

Yuuri shook his head, looking distressed. “You keep saying that, but I don’t know what you mean.”

“I want you to be my champion, Yuuri.”

“You want me to be your champion?” Yuuri repeated disbelievingly. He had only heard of the term in passing and mostly through rumors, but it was said that each guardian spirit would pick a single person to become their champion, someone who they thought could best embody their magic and teachings. “That’s impossible.”

“What do you mean? It’s each spirit’s choice as to who they want to pick as their champion.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Yuuri looked down at his feet. “I’m not fit to be your champion. I’m only a weak swordsman after all.”

He felt a gentle finger lift his chin. “That’s nonsense. First of all, you’re a magesmith through and through, and an incredibly talented one at that.”

“You must be mistaken,” Yuuri said softy. “I’m not as good as you think I am.”

Viktor tilted his head. “Are you saying that the opinion of the spirit of ice isn’t enough for you?”

“No!” Yuuri hastened to say. “It’s not that! I just-”

“Yuuri, you’re _amazing_ ,” Viktor insisted. “And I’m not the only one who believes that.” He lifted his wand and waved it across his body in a wide, sweeping gesture.

At once, the entire store was filled with small, fairy-like creatures that zipped through the air in dizzying, colorful blurs.

Yuuri’s voice was hushed with wonder. “Are those…wind and water fae?”

Because that’s what they had to be. The fae were usually invisible to human eyes, but Viktor must have cast some sort of spell to allow Yuuri to see them. The small creatures, dressed in clothes of blue or cream, danced and fluttered around Yuuri in playful loops. Their translucent wings reflected the lights like iridescent crystals and their bell-like giggles tinkled throughout the store.

Yuuri laughed as some of the fae flew close enough so that their petal-soft wings brushed past his nose. “That tickles!”

Viktor watched the scene fondly. “They are. And they love you, Yuuri. You enchant them every time you dance. You enchant _me_.”

“What?” Yuuri looked bewildered. “But how? The only time I ever cast magic in front of you was just now. And we never even met until you first came into the store all those days ago.” He trailed off when he caught sight of the guilty look that suddenly crossed Viktor’s face. “…We haven’t met before, have we?”

“Not...formally? The truth is, I’ve actually known about you for a while now,” Viktor confessed. “You see, I was wandering around this area several weeks ago when I happened to catch sight of you practicing some spell sequences outside.”

The color drained from Yuuri’s face. “Oh my god, that’s so embarrassing. I’m sorry, that must have been terrible to watch!”

“No, no, no, how can you think that? Your dancing was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you even if I tried.” He reached out to take one of Yuuri’s hands in his own. “Once I saw you, I knew I had to have you as my champion.”

Yuuri looked as though he didn’t know how to react to Viktor’s words. “That’s…kind of you to say, but you shouldn’t have to settle for an average person like me when there are so many better magesmiths out there.”

“But it’s _you_ who I want, Yuuri," Viktor said beseechingly. "Nowadays, most magesmiths concentrate on the technicalities of spell casting and place more focus on trying to perform the gestures correctly rather than the artistic flair behind their movements. But unlike the others, you understand the true meaning behind spell sequences.”

A few fae settled onto Viktor’s open palm. “The purpose of dancing spell sequences, after all, is to enchant the fae into manipulating the elements for you and when you dance, Yuuri, it’s like your body is creating music. How can the fae not be drawn to you? You embody everything a true magesmith should be.”

Yuuri flushed when Viktor cradled his face gently between his palms, looking at him as though he was holding something precious. “Ever since that day when I first saw you, I’ve tried to get to know you better in hopes of convincing you to become my champion. So, what do you say?”

“I-I…”

“In exchange, I’ll become your magic mentor. I can teach you everything you need to know about ice magic. Just say that you’ll become my champion.”

Viktor leaned in until he was close enough that Yuuri could count his individual eyelashes. Yuuri felt his already flushed face heat up even more. Viktor’s eyes were so, so blue and Yuuri felt himself _drowning_ in them. “No one but you can do it.”

At those words, Yuuri’s face crumpled and he took a step back, shrinking in on himself as he did. “But how do you know?”

Viktor looked confused by his sudden shift in mood. “What?”

“How do you know that it’s really me that you want? You only get one chance at selecting a champion. How will you know that you won’t regret choosing me when you find someone better in the future?”

“Oh, Yuuri,” Viktor breathed. “I would never regret choosing you. I need you to understand this. I’ve been around for a very long time now and over the years, I’ve seen how people have become complacent with learning the bare minimum of spell casting. In turn, I saw how magic has slowly become stagnant. Nothing surprised me anymore.”

“But when I saw you dancing on that lake that day,” Viktor’s voice turned wistful. “It was like my eyes were opened again. For the first time in a very long time, I felt alive. You breathed life back into me. So please don’t say that I deserve better or that I can find someone else more suitable.”

Yuuri had to close his eyes against the sudden onslaught of emotions that surged through his chest. “Okay,” he finally whispered.

“What? Really?”

Yuuri nodded, a little perturbed by the naked hope in Viktor’s eyes. “If it’s really what you want, then yes, I’ll become your champion.”

But Viktor just shook his head. “This isn’t just a one-sided thing—I want you to want it as well.”

“I do,” Yuuri hesitated for a moment before his resolve hardened. “Please let me become your champion and teach me everything you know about spell casting, Viktor."

Viktor stared in shock for a moment before beaming at him with the widest heart-shaped smile Yuuri had ever seen. “Great!”

Yuuri fidgeted nervously. “So is there something I have to do first in order to become your champion?”

A mischievous twinkle appeared in Viktor’s blue eyes. “Just this.”

Before Yuuri could react, Viktor reached out to cup Yuuri’s face between his hands and leaned down to press a soft, lingering kiss to his lips.

Yuuri swore that his heart actually stopped for a moment. When Viktor finally drew back with a satisfied smile, he stammered, red-faced and incoherent. “W-What was that for?”

Viktor hummed contently. “That was a way for me to confirm our new bond as spirit and champion!”

“I've never heard of anything like that!”

“Well, it wasn’t necessary, but I wanted to do it~” Yuuri began to sputter incoherently again, but Viktor interjected. “Look down, Yuuri.”

Yuuri glanced down at himself to see that his mage outfit had gained quite a few noticeable differences. Large, beautiful crystals of ice had appeared on his right shoulder and trailed down to rest on both sides of his hips, tracing a glistening path that stood out starkly against the black cloth and immaculate silver beading.

Viktor smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle on his outfit and nodded. “There, perfect.”

“Viktor?” Yuuri straightened up to meet his eyes. “I just wanted to say that I’m looking forward to working with you. I promise to work hard and I’ll prove that you weren’t wrong to choose me as your champion.”

Despite being the spirit of ice, Viktor’s touch when he lifted Yuuri's hand to press a soft kiss to his knuckles still managed to warm him to the core. His answering smile was as radiant as the winter sun itself. “I look forward to it as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I have attached the element chart that explains how elements work in this world. 
> 
> Also, some ~~quick~~ notes about this AU: (bear with me, this turned out way longer than I thought)  
>  -The four elementals—water, fire, earth, and wind—are the highest ranked beings. They are basically the embodiments of the elements themselves and ultimately, are the sources of magic in this world. 
> 
> -Immediately below the elementals are the four guardian spirits. Each guardian spirit is a combination of two of the elementals. For example, Viktor, as the spirit of ice, is basically a combination of the water and wind elementals.  
>    
> -Other than Viktor, there are 3 other spirits, the spirit of wood (water + earth), spirit of darkness (earth + fire), and spirit of light (fire + air). See if you can guess their identities! 
> 
> -The job of the guardian spirits is to oversee the fae and the people who fall under their respective elements. Using the example of Viktor again, as the spirit of ice, Viktor is Yuuri's guardian spirit since Yuuri's elements are water and wind. Viktor also serves as the guardian spirit for any other people who have water and wind as their elements.
> 
> -Below the four guardian spirits and the most numerous in number are the fae, small fairy-like creatures that are basically extensions of the elementals themselves. They are the ones who control the elements—hence, why magesmiths try to ‘enchant’ the fae by dancing spell sequences in order to get them to manipulate the elements for them. The fae are usually invisible to everyone but the elementals and spirits themselves.  
>    
> -Magesmith vs swordsman: these are the two paths that one can choose from if they want to continue pursuing the study of magic. Again, swordsmen focus more on learning sword techniques and close-ranged fighting and use their innate magic to directly amplify their attacks. Magesmiths, on the other hand, are usually medium to long-distance fighters and cast spells by performing spell sequences. Think of spell sequences as being similar to the elemental bending that happens in Avatar, but more dance-based.  
>    
> -Each magesmith has their own 'mage form' that they can change into via a magical girl-esque transformation. They can still cast magic in their normal forms, but their magic is significantly weaker then.  
>    
> And I think that’s everything for now? If you have any questions about this AU, please feel free to ask! If there's enough interest, I might also consider writing another chapter in Viktor's POV.

**Author's Note:**

> If you are curious or confused about how elements work in this world, please refer to the chart below. Here is a link to the [tumblr version](http://bird-of-dreams.tumblr.com/post/157996519732/elements-chart-for-my-newest-yuri-on-ice-story) if you prefer to view that instead. Please let me know if you have any questions about this AU so far! 


End file.
